All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

"Is it him, sir? Has he returned?"

Opening Statement

In recent years, the BBC has had great success with new programming that
modernizes various aspects of English history or culture. We've had new versions
of Merlin, Robin Hood, Dr. Jekyll, and, yes, Dr. Who. It was only a matter of
time that this mentality turned toward the Victorian era, and to one of the most
famous names history—Jack the Ripper.

It's been a long time since those five fateful murders in 1888, but the
world's imaginations are still ablaze with the thought of the horrors of the
still-unsolved killings. How to turn this into a weekly series? Not by
recreating the killings, but showing how much of an impact they had on the city
of London, and how they represented the changing of the times. Hence the
address, Ripper Street.

Facts of the Case

It's 1889, one year after the Jack the Ripper murders caused hysteria on the
streets of London. Everyone fears the Ripper might still return. In the
scum-ridden streets of the Whitechapel district, police work day and night in
the hopes of maintaining some semblance of peace. This includes the level-headed
Inspector Reid (Matthew McFayden, Anna
Karenina) and tough guy Sgt. Drake (Jerome Flynn, Game of Thrones). They're often
joined by Jackson (Adam Rothenberg, The Ex List) an American surgeon, who
helps out with autopsies and with his connections in the city's criminal
underbelly.

This episode list was last seen at the Ten Bells:

• "I Need Light" London is on the verge of panic
when a prostitute is found murdered, with similarities to the Jack the Ripper
killings. Upon investigating, Reid uncovers a different kind of conspiracy,
complete with frightening use of new technology.

• "In My Protection" London is on the verge of
panic when a young boy is a key witness to a crime, and Reid and company must
protect him from a vengeful mob.

• "The King Came Calling" London is on the verge
of panic when a dead body is found with signs of cholera. Reid must sort out
whether this is a murder or a full-blown epidemic.

• "The Good of This City" London is on the verge
of panic when a murder is committed inside a building scheduled for demolition
to make way for the city's new subway system. Can Reid preserve his crime scene
with the railroaders breathing down his back?

• "The Weight of One Man's Heart" London is on
the verge of panic when a bunch of former military men plan a heist, while Drake
shows his sensitive side by pursuing the girl of his dreams.

• "Tournament of Shadows" London is on the verge
of panic when a series of bombings rocks the streets, traced back to striking
unions. Reid convinces Jackson to go undercover with the union to root out the
culprit.

• "A Man of My Company" London is on the verge of
panic when murdered bodies are found floating in the river. Jackson's old
friends from America show up, not by coincidence, threatening to reveal the
secrets of Jackson's sordid past.

• "What Use Our Work?" London is on the verge of
panic when a prostitute is found "ripped," and a familiar face is
accused of the crime. Has the Ripper truly returned?

The Evidence

The question, "Is Jack the Ripper back?" both does and doesn't
hover over the whole series. I'm not sure which the creators intended. Are they
trying to establish the threat of the Ripper always lurking in the shadows, or
are they saying that the Ripper is over and done with, and that it's time focus
on all of the other horrible murders going on? Reid makes a speech saying as
much at the end of the first episode, which seemingly closes the book on the
Ripper case. But then, other episodes will drop the occasional reference to the
Ripper, and then the season finale gets surprisingly Ripper-centric when others
haven't. So is this truly a Jack the Ripper show, or merely a Victorian-era
detective show that uses the Ripper as an attention-getting hook? It's both,
depending on which episode you watch.

Episodes are mostly plot-heavy, following the usual police procedural
formula. A murder is committed, clues are sought for, the autopsy is performed,
there are various plot twists, a fistfight or two, maybe a chase, and then the
resolution. Although it's not too terribly different from other cop shows, plots
are still complex enough to demand a lot of concentration on the part of the
viewer. Along the way, the writers slowly peel away more and more aspects of the
characters' personal lives. We get a sense of Reid's tense relationship with his
wife, Drake's loneliness, and Jackson's colorful and sordid past. These hints in
early episodes are then explored fully in later episodes, rewarding those
viewers who've watched attentively and paid attention to all the little
details.

McFayden carries the show nicely as Reid, bringing a level-headed
seriousness to it all, so that you really believe he's the island of calm in the
sea of fears and craziness that is Whitechapel. This is contrasted against
Rothenberg as the rough n' tumble American, Jackson. Because he's not a cop,
Jackson is able to have all kinds of fun, talking back to authority figures,
hanging out with crooks, and even living at a brothel (!). His past includes
work as an army surgeon and as a member of the famous Pinkerton Detective
Agency, which Ripper Street dismisses as nothing but a bunch of
mercenaries. As the more colorful one of the group, Jackson is a lot of fun, and
the tension between him and the cops adds another level of drama to any given
episode.

As the muscle of the group, Jerome Flynn as Drake has that genuine tough guy
look about him. He's not taller or more muscular than the other guys, but one
look at his world-weary face, and you can tell that this is a guy who's survived
a lifetime of both giving and receiving beatings. Drake's spotlight episode,
"The Weight of One Man's Heart," is the best of the season, because
it's the most emotional. Maybe the whole unrequited romance thing is too easy a
route for some instant drama, but Flynn sells it so excellently that you can't
help but feel for the guy. He can crack skulls up and down Whitechapel, but he
still can't get the girl.

The supporting cast shines as well. Amanda Hale is Reid's wife, who manages
to portray being distant from her husband without coming across as cold or
heartless. Reid also meets the owner of an orphanage (what's the Victorian era
without orphans running around underfoot?) played by Lucy Cohu (Gosford Park). She too lends a lot heart to
her scenes. MyAnna Burning (The Descent)
plays the brothel madame who shares in Jackson's mysterious past. She has the
best icy stare of the whole cast. Charlene McKenna (Breakfast on Pluto)
is appropriately sweet and charming as the object of Drake's affection. Clive
Russell (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of
Shadows) appears a few times as Inspector Abberline, the real-life detective
who pursued Jack the Ripper, showing how much the Ripper case devastated him.
He's on the show as a metaphorical warning for Reid, in that he is what Reid is
in danger of becoming.

All eight episodes of Ripper Street: Series One are on this
three-disc set. Picture quality is good, but a little soft at times. Details are
occasionally good, but black levels too often come out grey and murky. Sound is
good as well, but not as booming or as immersive as it could be. The bonus
features are where the Ripperologists like myself can really enjoy, as they're
more Ripper-related than a lot of the series. Four featurettes look back at the
Ripper killings, Whitechapel of the era, and whether today's forensic science
could have/would have solved the case. This is followed by another three
featurettes, focusing on the cast and production, along with some character
profiles.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Ripperologists and related historians will have lot to nitpick. Upon seeing a
dead body, Reid is quick to declare that it's not the Ripper's work. But, the
Ripper murders were frustratingly inconsistent, which why they continue to
baffle crimesolvers to this day. Maybe Reid was merely saying that to quell
people's fears, but if so, that could be made clear.

At other times, the show tries to dip its toe in the steampunk waters, by
introducing technology that is years ahead of what they really had at the time.
This can be amusing, as it illustrates the changing of the times, but it's
inconsistent as to when the show is trying to be gritty and historically
accurate and when it's fanciful by going into "gears and brass
goggles" territory. If you're going to do the steampunk thing, either go
full-bore with it and bring on the dirigibles, or don't bother at all.

Closing Statement

Ripper Street is much more of a cerebral drama than it is
suspense/thriller, and it's more a standard cop show than it is an exploration
of Jack the Ripper. Don't let these facts stop you from checking it out, though,
because there's a lot to enjoy. I'm looking forward to Series Two.